Hidden in the corners, nooks, and crannies of this world is another world, a magical world, which has been cleverly hidden from the eyes of ordinary people (commonly referred to as muggles) for nearly three centuries.

While the inhabitants of this magical world (commonly referred to as witches and wizards) once lived in harmony with the muggles, their fear of the vast power these witches and wizards possessed led the muggles to persecute them. This persecution, while overall quite ineffective against individuals with such power, drove the magical community to live in secrecy to live peacefully and to protect the young ones among them who struggled to control their power and could not defend themselves with it yet. Due to this separation in 1692, the magical world full of witches and wizards remained almost frozen in time.

In the following three centuries the muggle world changed and evolved beyond recognition. Much of this change was due to their determination to increase their standard of living, but also due to once valued traditions being left in the past in favour of new discoveries and a supposed better understanding of the world. The inhabitants of the Wizarding World had no need to increase their standard of living as magic already gave them all that they needed. Therefore, if a muggle wandered into one of these little corners of the Wizarding World, it would appear to them as though they had taken a step back in time to the late 17th century in terms of dress, architecture, customs, and culture.

However, while magic had the capabilities to solve most any muggle malady or problem that could possibly arise, it tended to create almost as many problems as it could solve. While a witch or wizard could easily cure a muggle malady such as the flu, smallpox, tuberculosis, or HIV, magical maladies such as dragon pox, spattergroit, lycanthropy or blood malediction are much harder to cure, and they continue to afflict and claim the lives of witches and wizards all over the world.

One such example of this is the deaths of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter to the disease dragon pox in early 1979. Their deaths, which were only mere days apart, left their 19-year-old son, James Potter, orphaned. James was a lanky man with messy black hair, hazel eyes behind rectangular glasses, and a sense of humour and tendency for pranks which was only rivaled by his three best friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

James' parents were elderly, and he always knew that he would outlive them by a great deal, however, he had not expected it to be nearly so soon. He had always believed that his parents would live at the very least to the ripe old age of 120 before passing away; giving them plenty of time to meet their future grandchildren and potentially even great-grandchildren. Instead, they had only just barely lived to see James marry his childhood crush, a beautiful, red-haired, green-eyed woman with an intelligent mind, compassionate heart, and fiery temper, named Lily Evans.

At that time, Wizarding Britain, where James lived, was in the midst of a civil war. James, his wife Lily, his three closest friends, and many more of their graduated classmates from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had joined a retaliatory group led by the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, called the Order of the Phoenix. James had already witnessed two of his year mates, with whom he had once shared a dormitory room, die in battle with those on the Dark Side. As such, James had grown more accustomed to death and tragedy than any 19-year-old had any right to be.

However, the deaths of his parents were different than the deaths of those who died in battle or on missions. There was no tangible enemy, no way to fight it, no way to avenge them. James was not prepared for the helplessness he felt as his mother and father slowly and painfully faded away.

Shortly after their deaths while on a mission gone awry (his presence there having been strongly contested by many, but he had refused to listen) due to his unstable mindset and persisting feeling of helplessness, James recklessly ran into battle with Lord Voldemort himself, the leader of the opposition and the most dangerous dark wizard in recorded history. If not for Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin quickly running to help him fight and then get him out of there, James undoubtedly would have joined his parents in the afterlife.

After this incident, James took some time away from the Order of the Phoenix to grieve the deaths of his parents. During this time, the only people who saw him were his wife, and his three closest friends; particularly Sirius Black who had been living with the Potters since he was sixteen.

Sirius viewed the Potters as his parents, more than his biological parents, so he too took their loss very hard. Having Sirius' company and the knowledge that he was not the only one going through this, was the catalyst that eventually brought James back to himself. He loved his wife dearly and always would, but James knew with certainty that the person closest to him and who knew him best in this world, was his pale, black-eyed, dark, and shaggy-haired friend. He was like a brother to him, and Sirius felt very much the same. In Sirius' mind, James was the only family he had left. In fact, when his own biological father passed away later that same year, Sirius didn't shed a single tear and never bothered to attend the funeral.

When James returned to the Order, they were not doing well. Morale was declining, some of their number had opted to go into hiding instead of continuing to fight, believing that there was no hope left for their side. The name of Voldemort alone had become something so frightening that most would no longer dare to speak it, opting instead to call him "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-Know-Who".

Muggles were being killed for sport by Voldemort's wizard followers, the "Death Eaters", and the giants which had joined them were causing indescribable damage; both of which the Ministry of Magic (the governmental body of Wizarding Britain) was having an incredibly difficult time covering up. Those in the Ministry were in over their heads as they simultaneously attempted to fight and prevent Voldemort, his followers, and his powerful allies from toppling the Ministry and taking power as was their aim, as well as keep the Statute of Secrecy intact and keep the Muggles oblivious to the existence of magic.

Many members of the Order of the Phoenix also worked in the Ministry, some of them being Aurors, who were meant to protect the Wizarding World from the Dark Arts and those who practice them. Due to these members, despite the Ministry attempting to save face with the public, those in the Order knew exactly how badly the Ministry was losing this war. While some took this to mean that the Wizarding World needed the existence of the Order of the Phoenix more than ever, others felt that there was simply no hope and their defeat was inevitable.

One dark night in mid-June Lily Potter received word that her parents' car had been among the remains in a giant attack. Full of grief and pain and rage, Lily Potter immediately apparated to the location in which the Order had recently discovered Lord Voldemort and a good majority of his Death Eaters to be residing. Despite knowing the location, they had not gone to attack it as with their dwindling numbers and morale, such an attempt would be pure suicide.

Despite knowing this, Lily Potter blasted her way onto the property and began throwing out spells and curses left and right at the Death Eaters who stood on guard. Before she realized it, her husband was by her side telling her what an idiot she was for doing something like this and blasting Death Eaters away right alongside her.

Lily and James bickered as they fought, however before James could convince his wife to leave this place with him while they were still intact, Lord Voldemort himself stormed out of the building and they were both sent flying through the air.

Fear gripped their hearts and pain coursed through their bodies, but they stood up and stood their ground for the second time against the man so frightening that their comrades refused to speak his name. Within seconds it was clear that the Dark Lord was far more than the two of them could handle, even together, but they had no chance of escape.

Just as they had been backed into a corner and they were certain they were about to die, Lily turned to James and said with tears in her eyes,

"I am so sorry James." to which he simply replied,

"Don't be. I chose to follow you here. I would rather die with you than live without you." The two then interlocked their fingers and shut their eyes tight as they waited for death -

But it never came.

Lily opened her eyes first and nudged James to do the same. Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody stood in front of them, defending them against Voldemort. Alastor Moody shouted to them,

"You stupid kids need to get out of here! Now!" they hesitated for only a moment before obeying Moody's command. They apparated (a form of instantaneous magical transportation) back to Order headquarters and Lily burst into tears full of grief and guilt.

Shortly after they arrived Dumbledore and Moody joined them and the two were given a harsh lecture from Moody, along with a few simple words from Dumbledore which made Lily feel worse than Moody's lecture did. Dumbledore walked away, but before Moody followed, he turned around and said to them,

"What you two did was incredibly foolish and irresponsible… but you've got guts. Not many would have the nerve to storm into Voldemort's Headquarters alone and start a fight, especially not with the current state of the war." he chuckled, "Get yourselves some brains to go with that nerve and you just might have a place with the Aurors when this is all done. If you survive that is."

"Do you really think this war will ever end?" James asked.

"I was around for the last war, Potter. The one with Grindelwald. That one also felt like it would never end, that we had no hope of winning. But it did, and we did. The Light has always won in Britain, and one snake-faced lunatic isn't going to change that. The only way we'll lose is if we give up and stop fighting."

A few months later during a particularly fearsome battle, James and Lily came face to face with Voldemort yet again. By their side this time, were Frank and Alice Longbottom, who were both members of the Order of the Phoenix and Aurors. Frank had been in their year at Hogwarts and Alice had been in the year above, and the two of them had themselves already come face to face with Voldemort once before.

The four fought Voldemort with all their magical strengths. They dodged and deflected curse after curse, but even with the four of them together and all the Death Eaters distracted by other Order members and Aurors, they were no match for him.

Lily and Frank were incapacitated during the fight, leaving only James and Alice to fend off the Dark Lord. A few other Order members and Aurors joined the fight against him, but it was clear to all present, fighting Voldemort and otherwise, that they were losing. One of the members of the Order then shot three red sparks into the air, that was the signal to evacuate. James and Alice both immediately ran to their respective spouses and disapparated.

A few months later in late November, Alice Longbottom discovered that she was pregnant. Less than a fortnight after, Lily discovered the same. Upon her discovery, Lily chose to restrain herself from going on missions or entering battle to protect the life growing inside of her, opting instead to help the Order in other ways such as cleaning, cooking, attending meetings and helping to assign missions.

Meanwhile, Alice chose to continue her work as an Auror and with the Order but was cognizant and careful about it. Both husbands also continued with battle and missions, but with a new fervor and hope in their eyes.

The presence of two pregnant women in the Order truly helped to boost morale, as the dark and serious times were punctuated by happiness and joy, with many baby-related gifts given and a new determination to make the future brighter for those children who would both be born in late July…

In January of 1980 the Potters heard tell that while on a mission that had gone horribly wrong, the Longbottoms had come face to face with Voldemort for the third time and had very nearly lost their lives. James and Lily immediately went to visit them in St. Mungo's, along with a crowd of other frantically worried Order members, friends and family.

Fortunately, all three Longbottoms were able to make a full recovery. From that point onward Alice and Frank swore that they would stay out of missions entirely until their child was born. The last thing either of them wanted was to cause the death or orphaning of their unborn baby.

After what had nearly happened to the Longbottoms, Lily pleaded with James to stay out of danger.

"James please, I don't want my baby, my son, to have to grow up without a father… Who would be there to teach him how to play Quidditch, or-or to show him what it really means to be a good man -"

James pulled his panicked wife into his arms and held her tight. "Alright Lils, I'll stay out of the action for now." The redhead relaxed in his embrace as a single tear slipped out of her eye.

Around this time, rumours began to spread through the Order that there was a traitor amongst them. It was only rumours at this point and most did not believe it, however, there were a few instances when the timing of the Death Eaters was simply too perfect to be mere coincidence...

On March 17th, 1980, during a job interview Dumbledore was conducting in the Hog's Head Pub, Sybill Trelawney went into a trance and prophesied to him.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

Severus Snape, a follower of Voldemort who had once been best friends with Lily Potter, was eavesdropping and overheard the first two lines of the prophecy. However, the pub owner, Aberforth, who was both a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Albus Dumbledore's younger brother, caught him as the second line was said and threw him out of the pub. Despite not hearing the prophecy in its entirety, Severus Snape immediately reported what he had heard to his master, Lord Voldemort.

However, to Severus' horror, a few days after he had reported what he had heard, Voldemort had concluded that the prophecy could refer to two separate couples who he knew to be with child and who had faced him three times. One of those was the Longbottoms, and the other was the Potters.

For some unknown reason, Voldemort was insistent that it must be the Potter's child and was determined to go after him in particular. Severus' childhood affections for Lily Potter led him to run to Dumbledore and beg and plead with him to save her.

From this point onward Severus became a double-agent, working for both Dumbledore and Voldemort, with both aware of his interactions with the other. He became a member of the Order; however, Dumbledore saw fit to exclude him from most meetings and only gave him information which he deemed necessary for Severus to have.

Despite Dumbledore's mistrust and Voldemort's implicit trust, Severus Snape's loyalties always laid with Lily Potter due to their childhood friendship and the affections he still retained towards her despite her marriage to James Potter, and the fact that they had not spoken in nearly five years.

After receiving this warning from Severus, Dumbledore immediately instructed both the Potters and the Longbottoms to go into hiding separately using the Fidelius Charm, which hides a location and entrusts the ability to reveal it to a single person known as a Secret Keeper. The Potters chose Sirius Black to be their Secret Keeper, while the Longbottoms chose Emmeline Vance, a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Alice's best friend whom she had known since her first year at Hogwarts, and whom she trusted implicitly.

The Longbottom's son was born on July 30th, 1980 and they named him Neville Franklyn Longbottom. His father's parents Augusta and Trevor Longbottom were made his Godparents.

The Potter's son was born the following day on July 31st, 1980 and they named him Harry James Potter. Due to the private nature of his birth, Harry was not given a Godmother, however, Sirius Black was made his Godfather.

The Potters and the Longbottoms remained in hiding for well over a year. Sirius, Remus, and Peter (who along with James had entitled themselves the Marauders while they were in school) frequently came to visit the Potters and bring them news of the war; news which was often bad.

More deaths, more disappearances, more destruction, more failed missions, and more battles. James wanted nothing more than to leave their house in Godric's Hollow and rejoin the fights, however, on Dumbledore's orders he remained in the house. The only place the Potters ever went while they were in hiding was to the Longbottom's house as they were in hiding as well. At times, Lily, Harry, and all four Marauders would visit the Longbottoms together, who were always quite happy to have their company.

Over that year while the Potters and Longbottoms were in hiding, the rumours of a traitor amongst the Order grew and grew as instances seeming to show that they had an informant among them occurred more and more frequently. Most in the Order believed the traitor to be one of two individuals, either Sirius Black or Remus Lupin.

Those who believed it to be Sirius argued that Sirius came from one of the darkest of families in Britain, and many of his closely related family members were rumoured to be within the ranks of the Death Eaters. While those who believed it to be Remus argued that since Remus was a werewolf he has a dark nature and may be more drawn to the darker path than most are.

Additionally, Voldemort had many werewolf packs among his allies as he had promised them that when he won, in his new Wizarding World he would grant them better rights and end the prejudice against them. Both Sirius and Remus knew that they themselves were in fact innocent, however hearing the arguments which those in the Order put forth, despite their long friendship since the age of 11, each of them truly began to believe that the other was the traitor.

There were periods of time when their suspicions of one another drove a wedge through their friendship. They would argue with one another constantly, accuse each other of egregious things, refuse to speak to each other for days on end, and a few times they even outright physically fought and dueled with magic.

James felt torn between the two as he cared deeply for both of them and insisted to anyone who would listen that he trusted all his friends completely, and there was no way that either of them was the traitor.

In early September of 1981, Sirius suggested to Lily and James in private that they should change their Secret Keeper to Peter. Sirius knew that the Dark Side saw him as a threat and they knew that he was close to them, but Peter? Nothing about Peter was threatening in the slightest. He was far from exceptionally skilled magically, he was clumsy, fearful, sweet, mild-tempered, and altogether harmless. The Dark certainly didn't see him as a threat and he rarely ever participated in battles. They would never suspect that they would use him as their Secret Keeper. It would be much safer for them to switch their Secret Keeper to him, who was far less likely to be killed.

James and Lily seriously considered his words and debated whether they should change their Secret Keeper to their less threatening friend as a sort of bluff. However, in the end, they decided that changing their Secret Keeper was not necessary, and they trusted Sirius both to keep their location secret and to stay alive. Lily even made the point that changing their Secret Keeper would be pretty much giving him permission to be reckless with his life.

The Potters had no idea just how significant a decision this was, just how much this decision would change not only their lives, but also the life of their son, everyone they knew, and even the very fate of Wizarding Britain itself.

September became October which then became November, the Potters and Longbottoms remained in hiding and the war waged on.